The construction activities for the stormwater outfall and stormwater wetland are substantially complete. A grand opening ceremony was help on October 15, 2013 to celebrate the opening to the public of the new Stormwater Constructed Wetland and recreational features. Please refer to the "Documents" and "Photo" tabs for more information.

The Contractor on Contract 12 will finish final paving of the Fitchburg Cutoff Bike Path that runs parallel to the Alewife Reservation Wetland project, once this is completed the contractor will close (August 23rd) the Cambridge Park Drive access road to the bike path. Hence bicyclists traveling from Belmont to Alewife will have to enter the path at Brighton St. (Belmont) and at Alewife T-Station Access Road (Alewife). Click here to view sketch.

Surface restoration of Wheeler Street and CambridgePark Drive by the city’s contractor will continue with fine grading, asphalt base course, curb and sidewalk restoration, tree planting, and final paving. Parking on Wheeler Street and CambridgePark Drive will only be taken during the hours of construction (7AM to 4PM) on an as needed basis. No parking signs will be posted and updated.

Work in the Alewife Reservation continues with final planting, boardwalk construction, and multi-use path restoration. The city is expected to open the Alewife Reservation Wetland Basin to the public in September 2013.

The city’s contractor has completed installation of underground work for the project and will now focus on surface restoration.

Surface restoration of Wheeler Street and CambridgePark Drive by the City’s contractor will start with fine grading, asphalt base course, curb and sidewalk restoration, tree planting, and final paving. Parking on Wheeler Street and CambridgePark Drive will only be taken during the hours of construction (7AM to 4PM) on an as needed basis. No parking signs will be posted and updated.

Work in the Alewife Reservation continues with final planting, boardwalk construction, and multi-use path restoration. The City is expected to open the Alewife Reservation Wetland Basin to the public in September 2013.

Verizon completed their relocation of overhead cable from the east side of Wheeler Street to the west, including splicing, in January 2013. This allowed NSTAR Electric to remove their utility poles and the city’s contractor to continue underground utility work on Wheeler St.

The city’s contractor completed the final 300 feet of approx. 3300 feet of box culvert installation for the project. This milestone hydraulically connects Wheeler Street to the forebay of the stormwater wetland basin.

Restoration of Wheeler Street by the city’s contractor will start with an asphalt base course, curb and sidewalk restoration, tree planting, and final paving. Parking on Wheeler Street will only be taken during the hours of construction (7AM to 4PM) on an as needed basis. No parking signs will be posted and updated.

Work in the Alewife Reservation continues with boardwalk construction, and final planting.

Underground utility work by the city's contractor will continue on Wheeler Street through the winter. Verizon is completing the relocation of their cable from the easterly side of Wheeler Street to the westerly side and has almost completed their splicing work. NSTAR Electric will remove the utility poles from the east side of Wheeler Street when the Verizon cables are removed by Verizon.

Work in the Alewife Reservation continues with boardwalk construction as weather permits.

The Oxbow is fully connected to the Little River. Sandbags were removed from the banks allowing the river, fish and ducks to circulate through the Oxbow. Grading and shaping continues on the wetland meadow south of the Oxbow and in the vegetated swale between the forebay and main basin. Planting of upland shrubs and trees continues around the forebay and main basin. Work on the boardwalk across the main basin to begin soon.

Utility work for water, AT&T, gas and electric continues near CambridgePark Drive. Limited work has begun on Wheeler Street by Verizon to splice cables.

Planting of wetland plugs and forming of the wetland basin, vegetated swale and forebay is almost complete. Forming and planting of the Oxbow is completed and soon the sand bags and silt curtains will be removed from the Oxbow inlet and outlet allowing Little River water to circulate through the Oxbow.

Excavation and grading has begun for construction of the base course for the bike path. Grading of the upland areas between the bike path and the Oxbow and wetland basin has also begun. Planting of shrubs along the basin slopes will continue.

Work on Wheeler Street has been delayed pending the completion of work by Verizon.

Grading and soil placement continues in the Alewife Reservation. Planting has begun in the "Riparian Woodland" sections along the northern wetland edges. The Oxbow has been dewatered and the area is being graded and soils placed. See the "Photo" tab for images.

Box culvert installation has been completed at 55 Wheeler Street and 150/180 CambridgePark Drive. Restoration of these properties is underway. Installation of the box culvert has begun at 125 CambridgePark Drive and will be followed by work within CambridgePark Drive to relocate existing utilities and installation of the box culvert and closing structure.

Verizon will be relocating their cable from the east side of Wheeler Street to the west side of the street in preparation for the box culvert installation to occur within Wheeler Street from 55 Wheeler Street south to Concord Avenue.

Grading and soil placement continues in the Alewife Reservation for the forming of the stormwater wetland. Footings have been completed for the boardwalk across the main basin and the overlook to the forebay area. The forebay area is completed and the outfall headwall is installed. Preparations are underway for the beginning of plantings.

Box culvert installation across 55 Wheeler Street has been completed and temporary restoration of excavated areas to begin. Night construction has ended and normal construction hours will be resumed. Box culvert installation will begin across the parking lots at 150/180 CambridgePark Drive.

Test pits were performed along the length of Wheeler Street to determine an alignment for a new water main.

Work continues on the construction of the Belmont Crossing Structure that will allow the box culvert to pass over the MWRA interceptor pipes behind 125 CambridgePark Drive.

Forming and stabilization of the forebay to the Alewife Stormwater Wetland is 80% completed and work continues on grading of wetland and stabilizing berms around the perimeter of the future wetland.

Utility relocation on the 55 Wheeler Street property is substantially complete. Box culvert installation has begun and is slightly ahead of schedule. Box culvert installation on 55 Wheeler Street should continue through March.

Utility work and box culvert installation on Fawcett Street is substantially complete.

The Belmont Crossing Structure that will allow the box culvert to pass over the MWRA interceptor pipes behind 125 CambridgePark Drive is under construction.

Berm construction surrounding the wetland basin is substantially complete and work continues on grading areas of the forebay and oxbow. Footings for an Oxbow overlook have been installed. Site dewatering continues.

A skim coat of asphalt has been applied to Wheeler Street in preparation for the relocation of existing utilities on property at 55 Wheeler Street. This skim coat of asphalt was applied to help reduce the noise from construction vehicles traveling along Wheeler Street. Work to relocate existing utilities within the 55 Wheeler Street property is required to be completed prior to the installation of the box culvert through this property. Utility relocation work on 55 Wheeler Street is anticipated to take 8 weeks, box culvert installation is scheduled immediately following. These construction activities should continue through April with surface restoration immediately following.. Construction on 55 Wheeler Street will occur Monday through Friday, between 2 pm through 11 pm.

Utility work and box culvert installation within Fawcett Street should be completed prior to the end of the 2011.

Excavation, screening, stockpiling and removal of soils continues within the Alewife Reservation. Approximately 1/3 of the stormwater wetland berm has been installed..

Vegetation within the Alewife Reservation has been cleared in preparation for construction of the stormwater wetland. Current work activities include the continued work on electrical, water, sanitary and telecommunication lines. An erosion control berm will be constructed to protect the work area.

Utility relocation continues on Fawcett Street to make room for the installation of the box culvert through the turn near 70 Fawcett Street to the sections installed at the railroad crossing.

The crossing of the high speed railroad lines near 70 - 110 Fawcett Street was successfully completed over the weekend from Friday, September 30 at 8:00 p.m. through Monday, October 3 at 5:00 a.m. The box culvert, water main and approach slab was completed at this location and the high speed commuter rail lines were replaced and ready for commuter traffic on Monday morning. Work will continue through the railroad property and into Fawcett Street where existing utility lines will be relocated to make room for the continuation of the box culvert work within Fawcett Street between the railroad and 70 Fawcett Street. This work should take approximately 4 weeks to complete.

Clearing of vegetation within the Limit of Work area within the Alewife Reservation will begin on October 3rd to allow for the beginning phases of construction of the stormwater wetland. Following clearing an erosion control berm will be established prior to excavation and grubbing. Grubbing of the area will occur in phases as construction proceeds.

NOTICE: The work scheduled for the crossing of the high speed commuter railroad lines has been postponed and will not occur over the weekend from September 23rd to September 26th. Work will be rescheduled and is tentatively set for the weekend of September 30th to October 2nd. Please check here and on the MBTA website at http://mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/ under “Service Updates - Commuter Rail”.

Beginning on Friday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. and continuing through Monday, September 26 at 5:00 a.m., the City of Cambridge’s contractor, P. Gioioso & Sons, in coordination with the MBTA, will be conducting construction work activities across the MBTA railroad tracks in the area north of Fawcett Street and south of CambridgePark Drive.

This work requires a shut-down of the inbound and outbound Fitchburg Commuter Rail Line during the weekend construction time period (9/23 to 9/26). Commuters will be directed to shuttle buses which will be operated by the MBTA between stations (inbound and outbound). Please refer to the MBTA’s web site for the most up to date information on busing, as routes may change: http://mbta.com/rider_tools/transit_updates/ under “Service Updates - Commuter Rail”. Please note that this work will not impact Red Line subway or MBTA bus service.

In order to complete these activities as quickly as possible, work will be conducted continuously on a 24-hour a day basis during Friday evening through early Monday morning. Construction vehicles will be accessing the work zone from Fawcett Street and CambridgePark Drive. Construction equipment will be operating for most of this time period. You may experience increased sounds of construction and notice lighting in the railroad area needed for construction night time operation.

A community meeting was held to discuss the construction activities associated with the stormwater wetland construction on Wednesday, September 7th at 6:30 p.m. at the West Cambridge Youth Center, 680 Huron Avenue, Cambridge. Click here to view a copy of the presentation. The establishment of the construction work zone and erosion control placement will begin the week of September 12th. A process to identify and relocate wildlife found within the work zone will continue along with the establishment of the work zone. Clearing activities will begin within this work zone on or after October 1st.

A pedestrian and bicycle detour between Belmont and the Alewife MBTA Red line Subway Station within the Alewife Reservation went into effect in June and will be in effect for the duration of the Alewife Reservation construction. Please click here for a map of the detour area, route and schedule.

The Cambridge Department of Public Works in conjunction with NSTAR Electric, NSTAR Gas, and AT&T, began utility relocation work in the Alewife Reservation on Tuesday May 3, 2011 in advance of the start of the stormwater wetland construction. This utility work relocated utilities beneath a portion of the Alewife Reservation and Little River to Acorn Park Drive through a process called Pilot Tube Auger Boring (PTAB). PTAB is a trenchless technology method designed to minimize disturbance in the Alewife Reservation and Little River by tunneling under the Little River. For a demonstration of PTAB please see the following video on You Tube. The PTAB portion of the utility relocations has been completed. Remaining work includes open trenching of the underground utilities from the staging area south to the connection points to existing utilities adjacent to the existing bike path. This work is on-going and expected to be completed by the end of September 2011.

Flagging of wetlands and the survey of the Limit of Work area for the stormwater wetland has been completed and a Limit of Work construction fence is being erected and erosion control devices are being established beginning September 12th. A community meeting was held on September 7th to discuss construction schedule and sequencing for the stormwater wetland (see above). For more information on the Stormwater Wetland design, schedule and bike/pedestrian detour please click here.

A second work crew continues the construction on the Bending Weir structure that will connect the existing 72" Wheeler Street drain to the proposed 8' x 4' box culvert. The structure is located beyond the end of Wheeler Street adjacent to the Railroad tracks. Another structure, MWRA crossing structure, is also under construction behind 70 Fawcett Street that will allow the new box culverts to pass over/around the existing MWRA pipes.

Construction of the box culvert beneath the railroad tracks near the bend on Fawcett Street will begin the evening of September 23rd. Construction under the high speed commuter line tracks will be a 24 hour operation beginning the evening of September 23rd through the morning of September 26th. During this time commuter rail service will be interrupted and busing of commuters will replace rail service. Pre construction activities have begun with the removal of freight lines near the bend in Fawcett Street by Pan Am Railways. More information to follow.

Refer to the Schedule tab for more information on work activities.

June 11, 2013

Construction for this project began on May 3, 2011 and is expected to be complete in September 2013.

Please note: this schedule is subject to change.

Summary of Current and Anticipated Work within the Alewife Reservation

Install decking and hand rails along boardwalks and overlooks (ongoing through June 2013)

Manage invasive plant growth (as needed)

Complete upland planting (ongoing through June 2013)

Base paving of the multi-use path (ongoing through June 2013)

Stabilized Aggregate Paving of the foot path (through August 2013)

Amphitheater construction (through August 2013)

Final grading and planting along south side of multi-use path (through July 2013)

Surface restoration of Reservation access path from CambridgePark Drive at the cul-de-sac (August through September 2013))

Summary of Current and Anticipated Work outside the Alewife Reservation

Cast-in-place access manhole along Wheeler St. (through mid June)

Cleaning and inspection of existing and newly installed infrastructure within project limits (beginning mid June 2013))

Poured concrete walls, backfilled Support of Excavation and began forming interior walls on the MWRA crossing structure behind 125 CambridgePark Drive. Several sections of box culvert were placed downstream of the structure to the new outfall to the forebay.

Completed test pits along Wheeler Street.

Work Activities completed the weeks of January 22nd through February 5th :

Installed erosion control blankets on the inner slopes of the berm and plastic sheeting for portions of the main and temporary berms, installed hay bales along the 5-ft contour in main basin, and installed hydromulch/tackifiers on all stockpiles and bare flat areas within the Alewife Reservation.

Concrete footings were poured for the overlook structure that will extend over the Oxbow in the Alewife Reservation.

Rebar was installed for the exterior walls and floor of the Belmont Crossing Structure behind 125 CambridgePark Drive. The concrete floor was poured.

Work Activities completed the weeks of December 11th thru January 22nd:

Continued installation of French drain and erosion control berms within the Alewife Reservation. Approximately 70% of the main basin permanent berm has been installed.

Managed soil stockpiles within the Alewife Reservation. Approximately 90% of the upper topsoil layer to be removed from the site has been stripped and stockpiled. Soils are being screened prior to disposal off site and for stockpiling on site for reuse.

Excavation began in the "Oxbow" area within the Alewife Reservation. A Support of Excavation was installed at the location of the Oxbow overlook and footings installed and backfilled with crushed stone.

Dewatering operations began in the Oxbow area. Site dewatering is being handled through a combination of settling, frac tanks and filtration bags.

NSTAR Electric began and completed pulling electric cable through the PTAB conduits and manholes at Acorn Park Drive and the Alewife Reservation. Electric cable was also pulled through conduits placed near 150 CambridgePark Drive to provide for temporary overhead power.

Established work zone at 125 CambridgePark Drive for the installation of the Belmont Sewer Crossings. Installed Support of Excavation and completed splicing of sleeves on the 36" and 30" MWRA sewers.

Work Activities completed the weeks of November 21st through December 11th:

Wheeler Street paving - skim coat only.

Continue installation of French drain and erosion control berms within the Alewife Reservation. Approximately 1/3 of the permanent wetland berm has been installed.

Manage soil stockpiles within the Alewife Reservation. Approximately 80% of the upper topsoil layer to be removed from the site has been stripped and stockpiled. Soil is screened before removal off site. Approximately 65% of the hydric soils and upland soils have been excavated and stockpiled for future use.

Completed the crossing of the high speed commuter railroad lines between 150/180 CambridgePark Drive and 110 Fawcett Street with the box culvert, water main and approach slab..

Work Activities completed week of September 12th:

Began the installation of Limit of Work (LOW) fencing and erosion control for the Stormwater Wetland within the Alewife Reservation. This work includes clearing a path approximately 20' wide adjacent to the LOW fence.

Continued utility work (electric, gas and AT&T) to connect with manholes and connection locations (Alewife Reservation).

Backfilled the launching pit (Alewife Reservation).

Continued work on the MWRA crossing structure behind 70 Fawcett Street.

Continue work on the placement of the bending weir structure beyond the end of Wheeler Street adjacent to the railroad tracks.

Raised NSTAR Electric lines along the west side of Wheeler Street in anticipation of Verizon line relocation, and installed new NSTAR Electric pole at the end of Wheeler Street..

Work Activities completed the Week of July 18th:

Auger bore and pull the relocated NSTAR Gas main beneath the Little River from Alewife Reservation to location south of Acorn Park Drive.

Relocate PTAB equipment within Alewife Reservation "drilling pit" in preparation for the auger bore for the relocation of the NSTAR Electric lines.

Continue work on the placement of the bending weir structure beyond the end of Wheeler Street adjacent to the railroad tracks.

Utility manhole construction within Acorn Park Drive

Work Activities completed the Week of July 11th:

Auger bore and push of the relocated AT&T conduits beneath the Little River from Alewife Reservation to Acorn Park Drive

Relocation of PTAB equipment within the Alewife Reservation "drilling pit" in preparation of auger bore for the relocation of the NSTAR Gas conduit.

Began excavation and preparation for the construction of the Bending Weir structure.

Completed a test pit and support of excavation for electric manhole on Acorn Park Drive.

Project Background

This construction project is a key element of the Alewife Sewer Separation Project that will separate the combined sanitary wastewater and stormwater infrastructure in the Huron Ave and Concord Ave neighborhoods east of Fresh Pond as part of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) Long Term Combined Sewer Overflow Control Plan for the Alewife Brook. The current sewer and drain utilities in these neighborhoods were constructed many years ago. During certain rain the combined sewer system can become overwhelmed causing flooding of streets and surrounding properties, and combined sewer overflows (CSOs) can be released directly to the Alewife Brook.

This project involves the construction of a new box culvert storm pipe to convey the newly separated stormwater to a new treatment wetland in the Alewife Brook Reservation where pollutants found in stormwater will be treated by the wetland system before being discharged into the Little River.

Construction of this project will provide significant environmental benefits by eliminating the existing combined sewer outfall, minimize flooding in the Concord Avenue and Fresh Pond Parkway areas, protect Fresh Pond from flood waters, and will reduce the discharge of pollutants to the Little River and Alewife Brook.

Design for this project is being managed by the Department of Public Works, in coordination with the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority and MA Department of Conservation and Recreation. Engineering consultants are Kleinfelder/S E A Consultants, MWH Americas Inc. and Bioengineering Group.

Additional drawings and specifications are available for viewing at the Cambridge Department of Public Works.

Hydromulching_tackifier for soil stabilization_February 8 2012

Alewife Reservation_Berm_December 2011

Site erosion control blankets and plastic sheeting_Alewife Reservation_January 27 2012

Site erosion control blankets and plastic sheeting

Fawcett Street Water line relocation_October 2011

Fawcett Street Water line relocation

PTAB Launching Pit in Alewife Reservation_June 2011

PTAB Launching Pit in Alewife Reservation_June 2011

Electric Bundle_into launching pit_August 2011

Electric Bundle_August 2011

Bending Weir Structure_July 13 2011

Bending Weir Structure_July 14 2011

Bending Weir Structure_July 19 2011

Bending Weir Structure_July 19 2011

Bending Weir Structure_July 21 2011

Electric Manhole on Acorn Park Drive

Cambridge Department of Public Works147 Hampshire Street

Standard work hours are 7 AM to 4PM, but work hours on private property and within the Alewife Reservation man extend until 11 PM, Monday through Friday (occasional work will occur on Saturdays). Rarely construction may extend 24 hours for utility relocation work associated with the lowering of utilities within the Alewife Reservation and under the Little River.